But go through the Panthers' five losses, and you can find multiple plays that may have helped reversed the outcomes. So let's take a look at an underrated #missedopportunity from each of Carolina's five losses.

Week 1 - at Denver

Carolina leads, 17-7 with 5:27 left in the third quarter

Panthers ball, third-and-10 from their 39

Even Ron Rivera has wondered aloud if the season would be unfolding differently had Gano's kick not sailed wide left. But what if Ryan Kalil wasn't called for this face mask?

Instead of a 22-yard gain by Jonathan Stewart off a scramble by Cam Newton, the Panthers eventually had to punt. And while Kalil was caught with his fingers on a face mask, Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall got away with launching himself head first into Newton's helmet.

Carolina leads, 10-2 with 6:26 left in the second quarter

Panthers ball, third-and-5 from the Vikings' 37

But four minutes later, after the Panthers took over in Vikings' territory, Devin Funchess dropped a chance to move the chains.

Five seconds later, Gano's 54-yard attempt hit the upright.

Week 4 - at Atlanta

Atlanta leads, 7-0 with 4:08 left in the first quarter

Panthers ball, third-and-3 from their 48

Even if Newton threw an accurate pass to Ted Ginn Jr., and even if Ginn caught the pass, the Panthers probably weren't going to slow down Julio Jones. But this was a great chance to steal some early momentum.

After a punt and a Jones' 43-yard catch, the Panthers were suddenly in a 14-0 hole.

4 thoughts on “5 Panthers’ Losses, 5 Missed Opportunities”

Saints play was not Teddy’s fault … he had a man deeper in his zone … if he comes up on the short man, brees hits the man further downfield. prolly Shaq’s fault for not carrying the guy across the field

pretty sure it’s frowned upon to throw your teammate under the bus 🙂 Maybe i’m wrong, but it looks like a bigger gain to me if teddy stays shallow enough to stop that guy. even looks like Luke has something to say to Shaq after the play.